Alcatraz (album)

Last updated

Alcatraz
The Mr. T Experience - Alcatraz cover.jpg
Studio album by
Released1999
RecordedMarch–April 1999
Genre Punk rock, pop punk
Label Lookout!
Producer Kevin Army
The Mr. T Experience chronology
Road to Ruin
(1998)
Alcatraz
(1999)
Yesterday Rules
(2004)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Pitchfork Media 6.7/10 [2]

Alcatraz is an album by the Berkeley punk rock band the Mr. T Experience, released in 1999 by Lookout! Records. [3] [4] It was the band's last album to include bassist Joel Reader, who left the group after its release. [5]

Contents

Production

The album was produced by Kevin Army. [6] It was recorded at multiple studios around the Bay Area, to ensure that the songs were sonically distinct. [6] The album's sound differed from the band's previous two efforts, incorporating organ, keyboards, and acoustic instrumentation. [7] [8]

Critical reception

The Dallas Observer deemed Alcatraz "a good, old-fashioned rock album." [9] SF Weekly wrote: "Deliberately seeking out the sonically claustrophobic atmosphere of such '80s favorites as Elvis Costello's Armed Forces and Joe Jackson's I'm the Man, the album achieves a level of nearly paranoid musicianship, rife with extemporaneous fills and exceedingly tight instrumental interplay." [6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dr. Frank

No.TitleLength
1."I Wrote a Book About Rock and Roll" 
2."Naomi" 
3."Self-Pity" 
4."Hey Emily" 
5."Tomorrow is a Harsh Mistress" 
6."Two of Us" 
7."Our Days Are Numbered" 
8."We're Not No One" 
9."Re-Activate Your Heart" 
10."Perhaps" 
11."She's My Alcatraz" 
12."I Feel for You" 
13."We'll Get By" 

Personnel

Album information

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References

  1. "Alcatraz - The Mr. T Experience | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" via www.allmusic.com.
  2. Byrd, Steven. "The Mr. T Experience: Alcatraz: Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  3. "Mr. T Experience". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  4. "Sixpence None the Richer, Mr. T Experience ..." MTV News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021.
  5. "The Mr. T Experience | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  6. 1 2 3 "Growing Pains". SF Weekly. September 1, 1999.
  7. Masley, Ed (October 15, 1999). "ARE YOU MR. T EXPERIENCED?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT. p. 32.
  8. "Show Business Is My Life". East Bay Express. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  9. Crain, Zac (March 9, 2000). "The Mr. T Experience". Dallas Observer.